A prominent hotel executive in the Caribbean has called on
the region's leaders to support women working in tourism.

Karolin Troubetzkoy, executive director of St. Lucia's Jade
Mountain resort, said: "Caribbean women are some of the most
powerful and accomplished women in the global tourism and
hospitality sectors, but there is still a need to ensure they can
shine and advance without being compromised or
limited."

Troubetzkoy, who is also President of the Caribbean Hotel and
Tourism Association (CHTA), suggested initiating a dialogue with
female leaders in the Caribbean tourism industry to deal with the
type of concerns that led to the formation of the "Me Too" and
"Time's Up" movements in North America. She also highlighted the
need to tackle other gender and professional development-related
issues.

She added: "Our women are often at the frontlines of our tourism
and hospitality industries because of the natural welcoming natures
of our Caribbean people and we want to give them a forum to
highlight issues, voice concerns, advance solutions and
to ultimately ensure a safe and fair working environment… In
addition to being an important industry for women to earn a living,
tourism is also by far the leading bread earner for the
Caribbean region, so protecting our women and allowing them to
shine will also positively impact our valuable investments
themselves. Women have done a lot of thinking about these issues
for years, so it's time to hear their voices and to disseminate
their recommendations much more widely. It's time to
#PressforProgress," she concluded, referring to this year's
International Women's Day theme.